Sep – 28 – ADD ONE CUBIT!

“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” (Mathew 6:27). Christians have been called to be happy. The handsomeness of the king should be in them and their hearts should be with heavenly joy. But what is the present status of the Christians? They look rather sad than the gentiles and wear a long face. A small girl and her father visited a zoo. After looking at many animals, the girl came near a horse. She was surprised to see the long face of the horse. She told her father, “Father, look at this horse. What a long face! It must surely be a Christian horse.” Dear children of God, think a little. That girl might have watched many people who call themselves Christians. She might have found them to be afflicted with many sorrows and wearing a dejected face. She would have come to a conclusion that in general, the Christians are those who have sad faces. Let the world know that a Christian is one with joy. There is a proverb in Tamil which says that the beauty of the heart will be reflected in the face. If Jesus had beautified your heart, your face will also be beautiful. You will feel happy. If the Sun of righteousness dwells in you, the brightness of the sun could be seen in your face. A few more Christians possess a long face but this is not due to sadness. It comes because of their spiritual pride. Some people look down upon other Christians with contempt and consider themselves as spiritual Christians and wear a long face with pride. They behave with pride saying “We will go to Heaven. We are the partakers for the heavenly Jerusalem.” Thus, they seclude themselves from the other Christians and behave proudly without brotherly love. The Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes in the Scripture behaved that way. There was a saint by name ‘Billy’ and it is told that he would ever be with a smiling face and he would always be singing, dancing and praising God with immeasurable joy. Many souls were pulled towards God due to his smiling face. Is it not natural that the bees, ants and other insects will rush towards the place where honey is available? Will they run towards a bitter thing like neem oil? Dear children of God, do not be Christians of neem oil with long faces. Be with a nature sweeter than honey and reflect Christ joyfully. To meditate: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).